


I Just Wanted a Dog - Werewolf!Zoro x Reader

by Punklovergirl68



Category: One Piece
Genre: F/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Reader Insert, Reader is afraid of being alone, Reader suffers from depression, Romance, Sexual Content, Supernatural - Freeform, Unhealthy Relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-18
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-02-03 20:38:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12755766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Punklovergirl68/pseuds/Punklovergirl68
Summary: Life was hell for you, what with a strained, unhealthy relationship that constantly went up and down with your boyfriend and your constant fear of loneliness. So, when your friend suggested to get a dog to help with your fear, you had been all for it. What you didn't except was for the dog you brought home to be a werewolf--a supernatural being that shouldn't exist--nor did you except to hear that you were said werewolf's mate. Now your life seems to become more stressful what with mixed emotions, a werewolf constantly claiming you belonged to him, and the appearance of more supernatural beings barging in and disrupting your life. You don't know how much longer your sanity can last.One Piece belongs to Eiichiro OdaYou belong to yourself





	1. Chapter One

-Chapter One-

Yours and [Male Name]’s relationship had always been a roller coaster of emotions, one that people would deem unhealthy with how quickly it’d shoot up one minute, only to crash and burn the next. One week you two could be snuggled up against one another, cooing out gentle words of love as you lazily watch whatever would be on Tv that day. Then the next you’d be at each other’s throats, you curled up in bed a sobbing mess and [Male Name] sneering out words that had people questioning his love for you. It was moments like those where you’d find yourself in a depressed state, sprawled out on your bed, blankly staring up at the ceiling until the loneliness finally ate away at you and forced you to be the adult in the relationship. Forced you to call the seething male with pleads for forgiveness and quiet apologies just so he’d come back around.

This week was no different as you found yourself curled up in bed, sobbing as you clutched your chest. Another fight, about what, you don’t know. It always confused you how quick his temper was, how easy he found it to find something to throw a tantrum over and blame you. Starting a small flame and quickly pouring fuel over it until he had you a broken mess that didn’t know what to do. Recently you’ve been trying your best to hold out on being the first to apologize, knowing it wasn’t right to always let him slip by without an apology of his own.

Your friends all wondered what you saw in him, not understanding why you chose to stick around. Even you didn’t know the answer, you didn’t know if it was because you were stuck in a time when you remembered how kind and gentle he was at the beginning of the relationship or how your fear of being alone was stronger than your need to be happy. It was sick in a way, the comfort his presence brought you.

**_Knock! Knock!_ **

You barely lifted your head, quick to stifle your sobbing as you looked towards your open bedroom door and out into the darkened hallway. Listening to how the sound of someone knocking on your apartment door seemed to bounce off the walls of your silent home. Your mind was throbbing with millions of thoughts, wondering if it was him, wondering if he had come back and finally decided to pick up the slack and apologize first this time.

**_Knock! Knock!_ **

“[Your Name], open up, please” those thoughts were quick to disappear the minute you heard [Female Friend]’s soft voice flutter through the door followed by more knocking. Sluggishly you slid off the bed, dragging your sock-clad feet across the floorboards of your home before stopping at the front door, blankly staring down its wooden surface. “[Your Name]?” [Female Friend] quietly murmured on the other side, gently knocking on the door once more.

“What do you want? Leave me be to wallow in my own misery” your voice sounded hoarse from the violent sobs that had ripped through your throat since the fight had broken out and up until now.

“No” was the only response you got, and the knocking continued, now growing in volume. “I’ll keep knocking until your neighbors are forced to call the landlord” she firmly told you as you continued to blankly stare at the door. Wondering how she even knew about the fight, then again, [Female Friend] seemed to have eyes everywhere. She knew everyone and everything about this small little community you lived in, it was the one thing about her that always disturbed you. After a minute or two passed, you finally heaved a sigh, arm sluggishly lifting and barely putting any effort in both unlocking and opening the wooden door.

The minute it opened just a sliver of a crack, you stumbled backward as [Female Friend] came strutting in. Her face twisted up in a strange mixture of anger and worry as she slammed the door shut behind her. She was quick to advance towards you and throw both her arms around your shoulders, you didn’t fight against her as she pressed your face into her bosom and started to rank her fingers through your hair. Cooing out words in a tone that was anything but comforting. She sounded like she was suppressing her anger, trying her best not to break out screaming and cursing the name of the man she hated with her whole being.

“It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay” she seemed to calmly repeat, slowly leading the two of you to the couch before sitting you both down. Her eyes narrowed as she now glared at one of the pictures that hung up on your wall of both you and [Male Name]. A picture of back when the relationship was still new and you both were still getting used to the idea of dating. A time when the fighting was at a minimum and there was no guilt tripping or blaming involved when one did break out.

“How’d you find out? It’s only been…I don’t fucking know, maybe three hours since the fight broke out” you mumbled after a long period of silence. Eyes now stinging as you tiredly let them flutter shut, taking slow and calming breaths. Quietly wishing that this pain in your chest would just go away.

“That doesn’t matter” was the only response you got, [Female Friend] continuing to lightly drag her fingers through your hair as she leaned back into the couch. “[Your Name], you need—”

“Don’t say it” you suddenly interrupted, lips twitching downwards as you felt a lump in your throat. Already knowing what she was about to say. “You say it every time and the answer's always the same, so please, just don’t say it.”

“But, this isn’t healthy! You need to cut him from your life, this is getting ridiculous!” [Female Friend] huffed, you could hear her heartbeat with how hard she was pressing your head against her chest. Trying her damnedest to comfort you. “Why do you keep going back? Do you like the pain he causes you?” her eyebrows were now knitted together in worry as the questions started to flow from her mouth like a flood.

“I already told you, I don’t want to be lonely” you mumbled, snuggling closer. Wishing to hear more of that beautiful melody that you called your friend’s heartbeat. It was strange how much that sound brought comfort to you. You soon felt how her chest puffed out as she sucked in a large amount of air before heaving a loud sigh.

“I know” she mumbled back as it grew quiet once more. It wasn’t long before you soon found yourself starting to doze off, only to flinch back awake as your friend suddenly straightened her posture, a gasp slipping past her lips as she looked like she just had a brilliant idea. “A pet!” she suddenly exclaimed as you pulled away from her, now disturbed by her sudden mood change.

“A pet?” you echoed, raising an eyebrow as you watched her happily nod her head up and down.

“That’s right! You said you don’t want to be lonely, then get a pet so you can dump that fucker’s ass” [Female Friend] widely smiled, her chest suddenly puffed out and swelling with pride at her sudden thought. “Maybe a cat—no! You should get a dog; their hyperactive personalities are sure to pick up your mood!” you couldn’t stop your lips from twitching upwards when you spotted how pleased she looked with herself. You gave a breathless laugh before closing your eyes in thought.

“I’ll think about it” you breathed out after a moment of silence.

-Time Skip-

Your eyes blankly stared at each animal you passed by as the employee lead you through the backroom of the shelter. Each one looking cute and cuddly in your eyes that it made you frown remembering how poor you were and how limited your choices were. In the back of your mind, you couldn’t help but think how you would adopt every animal in this shelter if you just had the money and resources. But, at last, you had to be careful with your choice. Keeping in mind how small your apartment was and how you needed enough money to keep both you and your new companion alive and well.

“See any you like?” the employee—Jaden was the name written on his name tag—asked as he peered back at you. Motioning with a hand at all the cages. You didn’t answer right away, continuing to stare at the animals that in return stared back with wide glossy eyes that almost made your already aching heart hurt even more. Fuck, this was why you tried to avoid places like this, knowing you’d wind up broke on an impulse to give all these adorable creatures a good home with lots of love and care. Just as you started to open your mouth, ready to just pick and get the immense amount of guilt you were bound to feel for only picking one of these precious dogs out of all of the others out of the way. You stopped though, ears twitching at the sudden sound of growling coming from somewhere else in the shelter.

Jaden raised an eyebrow, quick to follow you the minute your feet started to move on their own, mind curious to find the animal that was growling while the rest were whimpering. “Hey, ma’am, you can’t go back there” the young man piped up, eyes widening when he noticed you were entering a more secluded area of the shelter. You came to a stop the minute you stepped through an open doorway and spotted more cages that lined the wall, the animals in them barely looking your way as they tiredly laid sleeping in their confined spaces. They all looked rugged and less than desirable, some looked like they had been caught up in fights and others looked like they had their beauty snatched away from years of being out on the streets on their own. The growling was louder this time, making it sound like the animal that was kicking up a fuss was enraged in this “prison” of theirs.

“Ma’am, you really shouldn’t be back here” Jaden nervously said, eyes shifting from you to the open doorway, as if frightened his boss would come bursting through. Ready to chew him out for allowing you to enter a room that was normally cut off from people. You had an inkling this was where the animals that were put on “death row” would normally be placed. Away from the public eye and separated from the other animals as they waited to be put down for acting up in violent ways or not being able to get adopted after a certain period of time. You only ignored the young man, feet lightly moving forward before finally stopping in front of the cage that held the culprit of the growls you were hearing.

He was quite large, bigger than any of the other dogs that inhabited this shelter. His appearance was rugged, with dark fur that was coated in dirt and matted down in certain places by dried mud. You winced at the sight of the large scar that ran over his left eye and you could just barely make out the scar that seemed to run down from his left shoulder and all the way down to his right hip. Beauty was not on this dog’s side you noted, eyes watching how his lips drew back and started to snarl at the sight of you while his fur stood straight up on end. “Those are some sharp teeth” you whistled upon the sight of the pearly whites, noting just how easy it would be for the animal to rip you to shreds if you got close enough to him.

“Yeah, almost ripped the feeder’s arm off on the first day we got him” Jaden mumbled, walking up beside you. You only hummed, not really listening to what the man had to say as you were too distracted examining the animal before you. The longer you stared the more you started to feel a strange tugging sensation in your chest, one that was just barely there and would have been easy to brush off as nothing more than your heart still aching over [Male Name], who still hadn’t contacted you since the fight.

“Is he part wolf?” you suddenly asked, head tilting to the side as you took a step closer to the catch, causing the animal’s growling to grow in volume. His body now crouching low as if he were preparing to pounce. This didn’t seem to frighten you though as you instead lifted a hand and pressed it against the cold surface of the chain link fence that served as the door to his cage.

“He could have some wolf in him, he sure eats like one” Jaden rubbed the back of his neck as he awkwardly shuffled around in place. Still nervously throwing glances back at the open doorway. “He only accepts raw meat, nothing else” he muttered as you hummed in response.

“I’m guessing he’s back here because…” you didn’t have to finish that sentence, the man already nodding his head as he automatically knew what you were about to say. It grew silent after that with only the animal's growling filling the air. “I’ll take him.”

“W-what?” Jaden gave you a baffled look, not quite understanding what he had just heard as he watched you pull your gaze away from the animal and looked him right in the eyes. You didn’t know why, but it felt like there was a small voice whispering in the back of your head, begging you to adopt the animal and save him from his fate. You had no doubt that the man in front of you must have thought you were crazy, wanting to adopt an animal that basically looked ready to pounce you and sink his teeth into your neck. “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that.”

“I said, I’ll take him” you calmly repeated, lips twitching upwards into a gentle smile as you looked back towards the burly animal. Watching how his growls started to slowly die down, his ears were still flat against his skull and his body was still crouched low as he curiously watched you with his one good eye. Now that you looked at it, you noted how it’s color was like an emerald with specks of gold splatted along in it. It was such a pretty color, nothing like [Male Name]’s boring old, plain eye color. Jaden stared at you, owlishly blinking his eyes as he tried to think of a million reasons why you should turn around and pick one of the friendlier animals up front. But, the longer he stared at you and quickly saw the gentle look in your [Eye Color] eyes before he finally just heaved a sigh.

“I guess, we can work something out” he muttered, watching how your eyes lit up with a kind of happiness that even you didn’t understand.

-Later-

You watched as the man shakily reached out a hand to the snarling animal. Leash clenched in his other hand as he thickly swallowed. He looked frightened by the thought of losing his hand to some animal. “Come on big guy, I’m just going to put this leash on—ah!” Jaden screamed, jumping away from the dog’s snapping jaw. Face pale as he tightly clutched the leash close to his chest and violently shook.

His gaze now switching between the violent animal and you multiple times as a look of regret soon crossed his features. You felt a mixture of amusement and pity for the man, noting how his feet subconsciously backed away from the growling dog despite still needing to put the leash around him. “May I?” you asked, prying the leash from the employee’s hand and dropping to your knees in front of the canine, barely flinching as he snarled at you. Once again showing off his pearly whites.

“Ma’am, I h-have this under control, no n-need to—” you held a hand up, motioning for the man to be silent as you maintained eye contact with the canine. Knowing you couldn’t show any fear or weakness to the animal as it needed to understand that you were now its owner and it wasn’t going to scare you away. Again, you felt a slight tug at your chest but chose to ignore it once again.

“Hey there, buddy, no need to be frightened” you smiled, ignoring the look Jaden gave you as the man questioned if you knew the difference between being frightened and being vicious. “I’m not going to hurt you, see” you lifted one hand out to the animal, letting it just hover there in midair. He continued to growl, mouth slightly open as if he was ready to snatch up the hand you held out and sink his teeth in its tender flesh before suddenly stopping as he took a small whiff of the air. His growling now starting to die out once more as he leaned forward and started to sniff your hand all around. Suddenly entranced by your scent now.

“What?” Jaden blinked his eyes, taken aback as this canine that was intimidating just moments ago suddenly calmed down. The snarl he once wore now disappearing and replaced with a sudden happy expression as his ears perked up and his tongue lulled out of his mouth as if just the smell of you was enough to calm him. Even you were confused for a few moments, not understanding the animal's sudden change in attitude. But, before you could really dwell on what had happened your eyes widened at the sharp tug in your chest, heart suddenly twisting in agonizing pain as your body jerked forward. Arms quick to wrap around the animal in front of you as not to face plant the concrete ground.

What was that? It felt like someone had just tightly wrapped something around your heart and harshly tugged on it until it felt like the organ was going to burst. But, just as quickly as the pain had come, it ended the minute your fingers were entangled in the dog’s fur and your face was pressed against his chest. Making it look like you were giving him a hug. Jaden was even confused by your sudden movements, only to brush it off as you just being excited that your new pet had been quick to adjust to you. You barely paid the young man any mind as he started to speak, giving you slight praise for being able to get the animal to trust you so quickly and wanted to know your technique despite watching you just hold out your hand.

You were confused, pulling away from the animal to rest a hand on your chest. Was this something you should be concern about? Did you need to see a doctor? You didn’t get to continue mentally questioning yourself though when you suddenly felt a tongue lick up the side of your face, causing you to tense and shiver at the wet feeling of the dog’s saliva on your cheek. Jaden grew quiet at the sight before smiling as he gave a breathless chuckle. No longer feeling the need to worry for your safety now thanks to the sight before him. Still, he couldn’t help but wonder what you did to change the animal’s mood so quickly.


	2. Chapter Two

-Chapter Two-

You were greeted with silence the minute you walked through your front door, eyes scanning the darkened home for a few seconds before looking down at the dog that happily stood by your side. His one good eye scanning the small living quarters as well as he took in the sight of his new home. The longer you stared down at him the more aware you became of a certain predicament. He was too big for this small home of yours. Part of you wondered why the thought had never crossed your mind while at the shelter, you should have realized with one look that a dog this sized needed a big home to go along with him. Yet, you still bought him, you still signed all the papers and laid claim to this animal.

You wonder what [Female Friend] was going to say the minute she stopped by to check out your new companion. You wonder what [Male Name] was going to say as soon as he spotted the animal whenever he decided to come back around. The minute you thought of the man you called your lover, your mood started to dampen—heart dolefully aching as your fingers twitched beside your pants pocket. Tempted to pull out your phone and call the man, already forming an apology on the tip of your tongue. But, you stopped though when you suddenly felt the animal beside you bump his head against the palm of your hand, as if sensing your distress.

Like he wished to bring comfort to you as quickly as he could. Releasing a breathless sigh, you smiled and squatted down beside the animal—quick to start running your fingers through his dirty and matted down fur. Already you were making plans to prepare a bath for him, but you soon stopped in your movements to stand and stare down at him as you suddenly remembered that you had still yet to name him. “Guess I should do that first” you breathed out, fully plopping down onto your bottom and humming in thought. Silently you breathed out random names that came to mind only to shake your head at each one, feeling that they didn’t properly fit the large dog in front of you.

The canine tilted his head, watching with a curious eye as your eyebrows furrowed in thought. Just as you were ready to give up—ready to find the nearest book of baby names, you snapped your fingers. A bright smile that hadn’t been seen in days tugging at your lips as you stared straight into the dog's eyes. “[Random Name]” you softly cooed, watching how he gave a confused look. “[Random Name] is your new name” you breathed out, chuckling the second the animal huffed as if displeased with the name you had given him.

It was almost like he didn’t agree with it. You didn’t know why though, to you it worked perfectly for an animal his size and smoothly rolled off the tongue. [Random Name] was the perfect name for a dog with such a rugged look. It was strange how quick your mood was to pick up, how the depression you felt these past few days was now shoved towards the back of your mind and replaced with a sort of happiness that this animal shouldn’t have brought to you so quickly. You were starting to wonder if you were running a fever, not even your friends could make you feel better this quickly with just their presences.

“Come along, [Random Name], let’s go get you cleaned up” you pushed yourself up and started to lead the canine towards your small bathroom. Not taking notice of the slight tug of his lips as his tongue lulled out and he happily followed behind you.

-Elsewhere-

“Luffy, have you picked up on Zoro’s scent yet?” an orange haired woman asked, calling out to the raven-haired wolf that came bounding towards her and the others. His lips spread up into a wide smile and tongue lulled out as he came to a sudden halt—tail whipping around him wildly. He always did enjoy a good run. “Well?” she impatiently asked as she looked at her companion.

“Don’t tell me you just ran around without actually looking for him” a long-nosed man frowned, heaving a sigh as he watched the wolf’s smile widened and showed off all his pearly whites. “I knew we should have sent Chopper instead.”

“It’s been three days, I know his sense of direction is terrible, but it shouldn’t be this hard to track him down, unless…” the orange haired woman’s shoulders suddenly slumped downwards, an irritation mark appearing on her head as she barely lifted her head when the sudden sickening sound of bones cracking and shifting filled the air.

“You don’t think he would have left the mountains, do you, Nami?” a blue haired man asked, pushing the shades on his face up to fully stare at the irritated woman with a raised eyebrow.

“If that’s the case then the idiot probably got caught by Animal Control, again” a blond sighed, blowing out a billow of smoke from his slightly parted lips as he removed the cigarette from his mouth. “Luffy! If you’re going to change back, at least do it where the ladies can’t see!” he suddenly snapped, looking towards the young raven-haired man that stretched his arms upwards and heaved a content sigh upon being back in his human form. Not showing any form of shame for his lack of clothing.

“I didn’t catch his scent anywhere, but man that was a good run” Luffy smiled, quick to whine at the sharp kick he received to the back of his head. “What was that for, Sanji?”

“Put on some damn clothes before you harm poor Nami-swan and Robin-chan’s eyes!” the blond sneered, two glistening fangs now bared at the raven-haired man.

“If you can’t find his scent anywhere, then it seems Nami might just be right” a raven-haired woman piped up, calmly seated on a nearby tree stump as her calm blue eyes looked around at all of her companions. “Wonder who’s going to go and bail him out this time” she smiled.

“Can’t we just leave him?” Nami’s eye twitched. “I told him a million times not to go near that town and he does it anyways, let him suffer the consequences” she crossed her arms and huffed,

“Come now, Nami, there’s no need to be harsh” the loud clacking of teeth caught everyone’s attention as they all peered towards the skeleton that calmly stood still. His hollow eyes looking around as he spoke with a gentle voice. “It would be quite bad if **they** discover that he’s intruding on **their** territory.”

“What does it matter? We’re all just barely intruding on it ourselves” the blue haired man pointed out.

“Indeed, that is true, Franky” the raven-haired woman spoke up once more. “But, you know as well as everyone here what happens when unspoken rules are broken” she didn’t need to say anymore as they all looked at one another, ears perking up at the low whimper that left the small reindeer’s lips as he now made his presence known while poorly hiding behind a nearby tree. “It’d be best if we retrieve him quickly” she said.

“I’ll go get Zoro!” Luffy smiled, hand raised high and waving around as he volunteered himself to take on the task.

“No, you will not! Last time we sent you, you almost blew our cover!” Nami scowled. “Usopp can’t go because he’s too much of a wimp—”

“Hey!” the long-nosed man snapped.

“—Chopper, Franky, and Brook are too obvious and can’t blend in. I’m certainly not going after that idiot, and Robin had to save both of your guys asses last time. Sanji’s going this time and that’s that” Nami puffed out her chest as she ignored the pout the raven-haired man was giving her before an innocent smile soon tugged at her lips. Her eyes soon became wide and glossy as she looked towards the blond-haired man. “Isn’t that right, Sanji?” she asked in a small, heavenly voice.

“Anything for you, Nami-sawn!” the blond swooned at the sight, hearts floating all around him as he started to rush off in the direction of town. “I’ll bring the mutt back faster than you can blink!”

-You-

You felt regret at not thinking ahead and setting down towels along the bathroom floor before bathing your new dog, your eyes now staring down at the mess of soapy water that had splashed out of the tub. The animal had shown excitement during his whole bath with how he squirmed around under your touch, tail wagging around each time your fingers would scratch behind his ears or under his chin. Your clothes were now soaked and uncomfortably clinging to your flesh while your hair was dripping wet from the few times you had found yourself being jerked towards the animal. Losing your balance at his sudden movements and splashing into the water yourself. But, it didn’t stop you in your task, eyes soon brightening as you watched how the dirt and dried mud started to wash away and leave behind a slick black coat.

You tilted your head, noting how in the light the dog’s fur seemed to hold a slight tint of green. But you didn’t have time to dwell on it as your body jerked back the minute [Random Name] shook his fur after you had finished rinsing him off, flinging more water around and soaking your clothes even more. “You did that on purpose” you huffed, swiping a hand over your eye after a drop of water had hit it. Snatching up one of the towels off the towel rack, you started to dry the burly dog off. Shivering when he suddenly dragged his tongue up the side of your face once you were finished.

“There we go, all done” a small smile tugged up on your lips as you stood and opened the bathroom door, allowing the canine a chance to leave. “I think I might need a bath myself now” you noted, looking down at your soaked and wrinkled clothing. Your head lifting up the minute the dog suddenly stood up on his hind legs and pressed his front paws against your shoulders, causing you to stumble back into the sink as his tongue started to attack your face. Instantly you reached up and pressed the palm of your hands against his chest in a desperate attempt to push him away while laughing. Though the affection was sweet, the feeling of dog saliva on your skin wasn’t the best feeling in the world you found.

It was going to take you a while to get used to your new pet's affection.

-Later-

**_Knock! Knock!_ **

You hummed as you looked away from the Tv that displayed a rerun of an episode you’ve already seen over twenty times it seems. [Random Name]’s head seemed to raise up from your lap as well, his one good eye opening as a small growl admitted from the back of his throat.

**_Knock! Knock!_ **

Once again, the sound of knocking came from your front door, the person on the other end not making a sound to inform you on who they were. For a minute you felt your heart swell at the thought that it was [Male Name] coming to apologize. Wishing to once again see and hold you just as much as you longed to do the same with him. But, that hope was soon dashed away as a dark thought crossed your mind, one that reminded you that he wasn’t that type of person.

**_Knock! Knock!_ **

“Coming” you sighed as another set of knocks came from the wooden door, you gave [Random Name] head a gentle pat before standing as he continued to growl—it now slowly starting to increase in volume as he was quick to follow you to the front door. “Hey, [Female Friend]” you greeted the minute you pulled the door open to find your friend standing there with a lazy smile.

“Did you do like I said? Did you get yourself a pet? What kind? Can I see them?” she immediately bombarded you with questions. Pushing her way into your home without giving you time to speak before coming to a halt the minute [Random Name] started to snarl. His body now crouched low and muscles tensed as he gave the woman a look that dared her to take another step further into the home. Whatever bubbling excitement that had started to build up in her quickly disappeared, her own eyes narrowing as her lips drew back into a sudden sneer at the sight of the animal.

“[Your Name], what is **that**?” [Female Friend] asked, taking a step back and placing a hand on your shoulder as if to pull you back along with her. You furrowed your brows, confused by her tone and actions before owlishly blinking when you noticed how her actions seemed to further infuriate your pet. His lips now fully draw back as he bared those pearly whites of his to the world, looking ready to pounce the woman and rip her throat out.

“My new dog, [Random Name]” you calmly answered, before flinching as your body suddenly jerked forward. That same tugging sensation from before causing pain to blossom in your chest—pain that didn’t seem to disappear until you stumbled right next to your pet. You pressed a hand against your chest, before lightly blushing and clearing your throat the minute you spotted the concerned look on your friend’s face. Her eyes soon narrowing once more as she glared down at the canine that started to calm down now that you were beside him.

“You know, when I said you should get a dog, I meant something like a beagle or a pug” [Female Friend] muttered. “Anyways, have you made any contact with [Male Name]?”

“No” you sighed, shoulders drooping. “He hasn’t bothered to call or even attempt to come over either” you sadly told her, not even caring when you saw the pleased look on her face. Sure, [Female Friend] felt bad for being happy that you and the man you called your boyfriend hadn’t spoken once since the fight. But, she knew this was for the best, what you both had wasn’t healthy and hopefully this fight will be what kills it. Despite thinking this, she knew deep down inside it wouldn’t be long before you broke or [Male Name] decided he wanted to go at another round of bringing you down.

She was already hearing whispers from a few of his friends around town how he had been up to something recently. It scared her to think of what he was planning, oh how she wished you’d just cut all ties with him. But, that was a dream of hers that seemed to mockingly hang just outside of her reach as your fear of loneliness clouded your mind from your common sense that told you to erase him from the picture. She blinked her eyes, curiously watching as your mood seemed to start lifting the minute [Random Name] bumped the top of his head against the palm of your hand. Seemingly trying to cheer you up.

But quickly her gaze soon darkened the longer she watched the animal’s affectionate actions, knowing that he had to be up to something as his kind rarely showed any form of kindness to humans. If there was one thing she wasn’t going to stand for, it was the thought of physical harm being done to you. “Since you seem to be doing well so far, I’m going to head on out, there are some things I need to do” she suddenly muttered, already slowly walking back towards the door. Never breaking eye contact with the dog that you were currently starting to shower with affectionate pats.

“Alright, be safe” you raised your head, stopping in your petting to wave at your friend. She only gave a small nod in return before finally leaving you once again alone with your pet. Humming, you went back to running your fingers through the dog’s fur.

-That Night-

-Dream-

_Your breathing was heavy as you screwed your eyes shut, body shivering at the warm touches of the wandering hands that explored every inch of skin that was exposed. An intense gaze was directed towards you and only you as warm breath fanned out across the skin of your neck. Soon your panting turned into whimpering, head tilting back as you shivered once more at the feeling of a tongue licking up the side of your neck and the tips of sharp teeth lightly poked at the tender flesh. The owner of said teeth barely putting any pressure, just hovering there as if they were waiting for some kind of sign to come along and tell them it was okay to continue. Your eyes opened just a sliver of a crack, drinking in the sight of the man before you the best you could._

_It was hard to focus, your head strangely feeling light as your heart seemed to start thundering in your chest the minute you locked eyes with the most intense emerald eye that stared back. I looked as if it was glowing and swirling with a whirlwind of emotions with specks of gold splattered about in the iris. Your breath caught in your throat at how intense his gaze was and your body soon starting to squirm the longer you stared into his eye, a pleasurable shiver ranking up and down your spine at the breathless chuckle he suddenly gave. Soon, another feature of the man caught your attention, causing you to finally break eye contact as to stare up at the strangely colored strands of hair that sat on top of his head. Your lips twitched upwards and parted as you ready to speak, only for a scream to slip through instead the minute the man buried his face into your neck and an intense pain shot through your body._

_His teeth that had once been just hovering and barely scraping against your jugular now buried inside it and sent an awful burning sensation through your body. It hurt, that’s all you could think of. Just how much it hurt, hands now moving to claw at his back as you screamed. Body thrashing underneath him, desperately wishing to rid yourself of this burning agony. With each movement you made to push the man away, your chest started to tighten adding onto your pain and making it hard to breathe._

_You wanted it all to stop._

-End of Dream-

You jolted straight up in bed, swallowing thickly as your hands flew to your throat, expecting to find a chunk of flesh missing or a large amount of blood gushing out. Instead, you were just met with the cool, sweat covered flesh of your neck. No blood, no tears or indents, nothing but smooth flesh. The longer you sat there in silence, the more your breathing started to return to normal while confusion and fear swirled around in your hazy mind. Unnerved by how quick the dream was to take a dark turn.

You found your eyes scanning the darkened room before you, looking to see if anything was amiss only to find a mess of clothes sprawled around on the floor and a trashcan that was starting to overflow with empty cans of unhealthy carbonated drinks…nothing seemed out of the norm so far. Soon you flinched the minute your body jerked forward, that same tugging sensation returning once again as you forced your gaze to look at the end of your bed where [Random Name] slept. His breathing soft as he continued to snooze the night away, for some strange reason, just the sight of him was enough to erase your feelings of confusion and fear. Silently you cooed at how adorable he appeared sleeping before heaving a small sigh and snuggling back down into the covers of your bed. With strangely only one single thought coming to mind.

Green was quite a lovely color.


	3. Chapter Three

-Chapter Three-

****_Crash!_ ** **

You jolted awake, eyes barely opening as you sluggishly sat up and looked around your room. Confused by the sudden loud noise you had heard, it almost sounded like something in the kitchen was knocked over.

****_Crash!_ ** **

You flinched as another loud noise was heard, now fully awake as you noticed that there was a certain canine missing from the end of your bed. It didn’t take a genius to realize who exactly was making that racket in your kitchen. “Guess he’s hungry” you still felt confused, wondering exactly what your animal was even throwing around. Did you set out a bowl for him to even throw around yet? You don’t recall.

Slipping out of bed, you tiredly started to exit your room, not before checking to see that it was only ten in the morning causing you to groan at how early it was. The apartment was oddly silent, saved for the few crashes that had been heard earlier. Don’t dogs normally whine or even howl when wanting attention? “[Random Name]?” you tiredly called out as you started to make your way down the small hallway from your bedroom and towards your conjoined living room/kitchen.

****_Crack!_ ** **

You came to a sudden halt, a shiver ranking up your spine at that awful sound. The sound of bones cracking, a sound you never thought you’d ever hear outside of the horror movies you watched, nor did you expect to hear such a sound in your own home. You stood there frozen for a few minutes, just painfully listening to that sound that made your own limbs start to throb as if it was your very bones that were being broken. “[Random Name]?” you shakily called out the minute the noise stopped, but you were greeted with silence. Hesitantly continuing down the hall, you peeked your head into the kitchen, expecting the worse but was instead greeted by the sight of your dog.

His lips were stretched into a happy smile as his tongue lulled out of his mouth, tail whipping around behind him as he looked at you with that one good eye of his. What confused you most was how clean the room looked, making it seem like nothing had been knocked over at all in the first place. What was making that noise then? You didn’t have time to ponder it before flinching as the canine suddenly tackled you to the ground, his front paws painfully holding your shoulders down as he started to shower you with doggy kisses. “Okay! Okay, that’s enough morning kisses!” you laughed, trying to push the animal off you.

“Geez, you give me more affection than my actual boyfriend does” you chuckled, a sad smile tugging at your lips at the thought of the man that still hadn’t contacted you. You were tempted just to call him, to be the adult once more that took charge and apologize despite him being the one to initiate the fight in the first place. Before your thoughts could progress even further though, you owlishly blinked your eyes upon hearing the possessive growl that left your pet. His face now screwed up into a displeased look upon hearing what you had said as if he didn’t like the fact that you had a boyfriend. He wouldn’t be the first one to make that kind of face whenever you mentioned your man, [Female Friend] making the exact same face whenever [Male Name] was brought up in a conversation. With a small smile, you started to scratch behind the animal’s ear, cooing out gentle words to help in ceasing his growling.

Once you were finally free from underneath your dog, you made your way back to your room, ready to just crawl back into bed and sleep a little bit longer before you had to officially get up for work. [Random Name] happily followed behind you, stopping for a minute to look back into the kitchen, his smile becoming strained as he watched the small rat he had been trying to snatch up earlier scamper off. Phasing through the wall and disappearing out of sight, once he was sure that it was gone he continued after you. Before you even had the chance to crawl back underneath the covers, your phone suddenly buzzed—vibrating against the wooden surface of your bedside table with the screen came to life and displayed a name that made your breath catch in your throat. The name in question belonged to the man that you had just been thinking about just moments ago, [Male Name].

-Later-

[Random Name] huffed from his spot on the couch, annoyed with how worked up you were getting over this supposed boyfriend of yours. You had quickly gathered up some clothes earlier before scampering into the bathroom to prepare for the day right after reading the text you had received. Now you were just pacing back and forth in your living room, fingers nervously ranking through your hair as you mumbled to yourself. All sounding like words of apologies. This caused a small growl to emit from the back of the animal’s throat, part of him hoping that the man doesn’t show up at all.

****_Knock! Knock! Knock!_ ** **

You came to a halt in your movements, head snapping towards the door as a nervous smile tugged at your lips while you listened to the harsh knocks that were delivered to the wooden surface of your front door. He wasn’t happy and when he wasn’t happy there were little chances of you both not breaking out into another fight with him screeching degrading words and you trying to choke back your sobs and hold your ground. Nervously you shuffled over to the door, sucking in a large amount of air before exhaling it all in one big sigh as you opened it. Now greeted by the sight of an annoyed looking [Male Name]. “Finally, you’re so slow” he grumbled, pushing past you and walking straight into your apartment uninvited.

He wore that normal look of judgment on his face as he looked around your small home. Indeed, he was never a fan of your living space, claiming that it was too small and cramped for him. As he entered the living room, he came to a sudden halt—nose scrunching upwards in utter disgust the second he spotted the large dog that rested on your couch. “[Your Name], what is  ** **that****?” he asked, eyes narrowing as he jabbed a finger towards the animal, flinching the second [Random Name] drew his lips back and snarled at him in greeting.

“Uh…my…my…” you mumbled underneath your breath, sweat nervously pouring down your forehead as you avoided eye contact and started to twiddle your fingers. How could you forget? [Male Name] had a slight hatred for dogs…well for most animals that is. You never knew why and never pressed him on it.

“Your what?” [Male Name] asked.

“My new dog, his name’s [Random Name]” you quietly whispered, not daring to look at your lover for fear of seeing that enraged expression he was no doubt wearing. [Male Name] felt his left eye twitched, his fingers twitching before curling up into a fist as he drew his lips back and gave a snarl that could almost match your dog's. “I’m sorry” you quickly whimpered, silently praying to yourself that this wouldn’t cause another fight to break out.

“You’re sorry? Is that right?” [Male Name] asked, strutting over towards you. His glare hardening while a small smirk tugged at his lips the second he saw you attempt to make yourself appear small while slowly nodding your head. [Random Name] narrowed his eyes as he watched the interaction, standing up on the couch as his fur now stood on end while he slowly started to growl upon seeing how close the man was to you. “How fucking stupid and selfish do you have to be to go out and buy a dog without consulting me first?! How long have we been dating?

“How long have you known me?! Do you hate me this much that you can’t remember something as simple as my dislike towards dogs?! Huh?!” [Male Name] snapped, causing you to flinch as he towered over you. You knew by heart that he would never dare strike you because in your delusional mind you believed that despite his hurtful words and selfish nature, that he truly did love you like he had at the beginning of the relationship. That this was just a rough patch that would pass by sooner or later and you both can finally be happy. But, a small voice in the back of your head seemed to pity you for such delusions.

“I don’t hate you! You know I don’t hate you!” you felt your eyes sting at such an accusation. “It's just…I was lonely, and you weren’t coming around, and then [Female Friend] suggested—”

“[Female Friend]? You’re still hanging around with that bitch of a witch?!” [Male Name] snapped, his temper rising upon hearing your friend’s name. [Male Name] and [Female Friend] had never gotten along, since the day they met—even back then when things were good between you and your lover—the two seemed to have an unspoken hatred towards each other. Throwing out insults that sometimes made no sense to you when you heard them. “She should be burned at the stake, I told you to quit hanging around her, she’s no good!” your lover snarled, the venom in his voice making you flinch as you quietly whimpered before feeling your blood slowly start to boil.

“Don’t say such things! She’s a good person—she’s my friend!” you argued, you loved the man before you dearly, but you never could stand when he wished such horrid things on your friend. “She’s been here for me while you’ve been off doing God knows what! Why don’t you stop being childish once in your life and be a man for once!” you suddenly snapped, feeling a strange burst of rage hit you and it was then that you were now aware of the loud barks and growling that were coming from your pet. How long had he been barking? Why hadn’t you or [Male Name] notice it earlier?

“I’m the childish one?! How fucking hypocritical of you, you’re the one that’s been locked up in her room crying like a baby for weeks on end!” [Male Name] snapped. “How dare you even say that I’m the childish one in this relationship when you’re the one that’s taking forever to apologize!”

“Because I shouldn’t have to apologize for your mistakes every time we fight!”

“But, it’s your fault we’re fighting in the first place!”

“Why can’t we go back to how we use to be?! Why can’t you just love me when you come over instead of starting a fight because you’re bored! We used to be so happy!”

“Stop pushing all the blame on me! It’s your fault this is happening! I put so much love and effort into this relationship to keep it functioning and here you are trying to ruin it like always!” you drew back at the hurtful words that were being shouted at you, tears welling up at the corner of your eyes as you felt your heart start to twist. “Oh, here we go again! Go on and cry like the little bitch you are and why you’re at it, why don’t you go play victim to all your friends and tell them how I’m the big bad wolf trying to ruin your life!” [Male Name] scoffed before flinching as [Random Name] jumped between the two of you, causing him to take a step back from the growling animal. He took another step back, looking frightened for a moment the second the dog loudly barked at him.

“[Male Name], I think you should just go” you suddenly said, using the palm of your hand to rub at one of your eyes. You looked both tired and done with everything right now. The man looked away from the animal and towards you, looking taken aback for a moment because this was the first time you had ever asked him to leave. Normally after such an awful argument, you would either flee to your room to cry or sob out apologies, never really having to tell him to leave before.

“What? No, come on now, let's just sit down and talk about this” for the first time, you saw a flicker of panic come across your lover’s face as if he was scared that you were finally growing tired of his antics. “We’re both just tired and high strung from the last fight, why don’t we just sit on the couch and watch that show you like” and just like a switch, the air around him was no longer judgmental and venomous, but sweet and loving. Like how it used to be back when the relationship was new and you both were taking baby steps. For a second, you felt almost tempted to accept the man’s offer and just as you opened your mouth to respond, an agonizing sharp pain suddenly enveloped your chest. Your heart now feeling as if it was being squeezed to death while a faint whisper of a voice growled for you not to fall for such a poorly done façade.

It was the same pain you had felt twice before and this time the feeling seemed to double to the point that your knees gave out on you as your hands immediately shot towards your chest. Body doubling over, and forehead pressing against the wooden floorboards as you whimpered. “[Your Name]?” [Male Name] questioned, his face now twisted up into a look of worry as he took a step forward towards you before drawing back when your dog started to growl once more. Never once budging from his spot in front of you.

“Please…leave…” you groaned, the pain intensifying to the point that it was hard to speak. You had desperately wanted to tell the man in front of you not to leave, not wanting to be left alone with this agonizing pain in your chest. “Please…leave…” you tried again, not able to bring yourself to say the word “don’t” and as you weakly lifted your head you watched as that worried expression became replaced with a look of irritation.

“You want me to leave?!” [Male Name] narrowed his eyes. “Here I was worried about you, but its obvious that you’d rather fake being in pain than tell me like an adult that you don’t want me around!” he spat out, straightening out his shoulders as he stormed past the growling animal and your whimpering form towards the front door. “Call me whenever you decide to stop being a whiny little bitch” and with that, he was gone. The second you heard the door click shut, the pain in your chest settled and you were left just curled up on the floor, heavily panting as stray tears welled up in your eyes and slid down your cheeks, dripping off the tip of your nose. You barely had the energy to lift your head to stare up at [Random Name] when he gently nudged your head with his snout.

Moaning, you let your body flopped onto your side before rolling onto your back, so you could stare up at the ceiling with blurry eyes while ignoring the animal that lowly whimpered as he laid beside you and rested his head on your stomach. You felt too tired to move and your heart was now thundering in slight fear at what had just happened. ‘ _Maybe I should go see a doctor_ ’ you thought before yawning as you let your eyes slip shut, only having the current desire to sleep the day away fill you more than anything else now.

-Sanji-

“How can I help you, sir?” Jaden asked, trying his hardest not to gawk at the man before him strangely shaped eyebrow. He didn’t think it was possible for eyebrows to curl at the end like that, no, he knew better than to rudely stare at something like that. Unless he wanted the man to complain to his boss and leave him without a job.

“Yeah, I was wondering if any big burly mutts were recently brought in, dirty, got a scar running down one of the eyes, and looks unfriendly?” Sanji asked, an unlit cigarette dangling from his lips as he boredly looked around the shelter.

“Oh! Was that your dog, sir?” Jaden asked, now eyeing the nice-looking suit the man was wearing. He didn’t expect someone so sharply dressed to be the owner of that beast. “I’m sorry, but he was recently adopted by a young woman.”

“Adopted?” Sanji blinked upon hearing this before growing confused, he—just like the others—had been through this song and dance before. Whenever Zoro got foolishly caught, he had always been placed in the back and away from the public eye due to how unfriendly he was. They’d come, get him out, and then leave before any of the Hunters that roamed the area caught wind of them. But, this was new, never once have any of them come across this sort of problem before.

“Yes, I’m sorry, if we had known that the dog had an owner we would have held off on letting the woman take him” Jaden apologized once again, watching how the blonde’s swirled eyebrow furrowed downward, the other one hidden behind his hair. It made the young man curious to know if it also was curled inward at the end.

“Adopted” Sanji muttered to himself, repeating the word once again. “Could you tell me who the young woman that adopted him was or at least what she looked like?” he asked.  


	4. Chapter Four

-Chapter Four-

“Well, Ms. [Last Name], as far as I can tell you seem perfectly healthy. I don’t know what could possibly be causing your heart troubles” Dr. Henderson sighed as he reentered the room, his eyes glued to the clipboard with the test results in his hands before looking up at you. “Have you’ve been under any stress recently?” he asked. “That’s all I can think why these heart pains would be happening all of a sudden.”

“Well, just last week [Male Name] and I gotten into a pretty nasty fight” you admitted, hands clasped together and resting gently on your lap as you looked a the older man while he took a seat, already jotting down what you told him.

“Is that so?” he hummed before peering back up at you. “What exactly was this fight about? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“Well, recently I got a new dog—[Female Friend] was the one to suggest it—and I…uh…I kind of forgot that [Male Name] hates dogs” you admitted, sheepishly scratching your cheek. “The fight was mainly just a lot of yelling and then…then near the end, my heart just felt like someone was tightly squeezing it” you frowned.

“Yes, that is quite strange. Now you said these heart troubles started when you first got your new dog, correct?” he asked as you slowly nodded. “You also said it seemed to get worst during your fight with this [Male Name] fellow, right?” once again you nodded. “Well, if I had to make an educated guess your heart troubles might be caused by being overstressed. Stress from taking care of a new pet plus the stress of this recent fighting might not be too good for your heart and could have likely been the reason for the intense pain” he explained, leaning back in his chair as you slowly nodded your head.

“So, you think that might be it?”

“I’m not saying that it is and I’m not saying that it isn’t, if I’m being quite honest I would like to take a blood test with you just to double check if you truly don’t have any heart problems that we’re overseeing here” Dr. Henderson admitted. “You said earlier that no one in your family ever suffered from a heart attack or any other severe heart conditions, but there’s always a possibility that a distant relative could have suffered from either of those. Could be that you’re the first one in your family for it to pop back up in” he shrugged as you started to nibble a little on your lower lip.

“And if it just stress?” you asked.

“Then I advise you to try to relax or if you want I can prescribe you some medication to help with it” Dr. Henderson suggested, ready to write down your prescription before stopping as you raised your hand in halting motion.

“Let’s…let’s just get the blood test out of the way first, alright?” you smiled.

“Right, well don’t worry, the blood test won’t take that long and by tomorrow you can stop by and we should have the results” he smiled right back and nodded his head as he stood from his seat and motioned for you to stand as well and led you out of the room.

-Sanji-

It’s been about a week since Sanji was told about Zoro’s adoption and so far, he had little to no information on the woman that adopted him. All he knew was the woman’s name and what she looked like. He attempted to ask around, many people either shaking their heads with a shrug or pointing him in the wrong direction without meaning to. He had attempted at least over a hundred times to pick up Zoro’s scent, baffled that he was unable to even pick up a whiff of it at all. “Where are you, you mangy mutt?” he grumbled, eyes narrowed as his one visible eye scanned each person that walked by.

“I know you’re not that smart enough to mask your scent” he breathed out, finally coming to a stop under some shade as he heaved a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose while leaning back against the building behind him. Already he could feel the way his skull was pounding due to being out in the sun for so long and he was certain that if anyone were to look close enough they’d see the small wisp of smoke coming off of his person. He tiredly tilted his head back and stared upwards, eyebrows knitting together as he found himself lost in thought. “Where the hell are you, dumbass?” he grumbled as he pulled out his pack of cigarettes and put one in his mouth. Before he had the chance to light it though, he halted as his nose twitched when it picked up the faint scent of magic close by.

‘ _A witch?_ ’ he frowned, leaving the unlit cigarette dangling from his lips as he found himself subconsciously following the scent, stopping at the street corner as he peered around the building. Spying a young woman sitting by herself on a park bench, her eyes boredly staring down at the screen of her phone. She wasn’t looking at any pictures nor playing any games from what Sanji could tell, she was just staring at it as if she was waiting for a call. It wasn’t really all that rare to find witches and warlocks living in territories owned by Hunters, but that didn’t mean that it was a good thing. Sanji couldn’t help but curse a little, quickly pulling back and out of sight when the witch turned her head in his direction.

Even if she did look cute, he knew this was a bad thing because if she saw him then she could easily rat him out and cause him to have an even bigger problem on his hands other than finding his friend—which he used the word lightly. He was already on thin ice seeing how long he’s been in town, he had no doubt that the Hunters in this area were already aware that he was lurking around and starting to look for him, he needed to be careful from now on if he wanted to get both him and Zoro back to the safety of their own territory. Just as he prepared to leave, he halted as his ears perked up to the sound of the witch’s phone loudly ringing before she quickly answered it. “Hey, [Your Name], how did the doctor’s appointment go?” the blond whipped his head back around as he heard the young woman speak the name of the woman he was searching for. The one that apparently adopted his friend.

He stayed silent, listening to the short conversation that was exchanged between the two women before finally the witch hung up and leaned back on the bench with a sigh. Taking this opportunity, the blond quickly approached the young woman and took a seat beside her while wearing a charming smile, one that only grew as he had to retrain himself from swooning the minute she looked at him with those beautiful eyes of hers. How he wished he could just praise her beauty aloud for all to hear but kept himself silent as he knew he needed to complete this task that Nami had asked of him. “Yes, what do you want?” she muttered with a raised eyebrow.

“Hello, mademoiselle, the name’s Sanji” he introduced himself as he took hold of her hand that was limply resting at her side and pressed a small kiss to the back of it.

“Great, you’re the Casanova kind” she muttered with the roll of her eyes as she saw the hearts that danced around him before heaving a sigh and pulling her hand back as she crossed her arms over her chest and crossed her legs. “[Female Friend], now tell me, what do you want?”

“I was hoping you could help me find someone”

-Zoro-

Zoro opened his maw wide as he released a loud yawn, boredly laid out on the couch of the living room as he patiently waited for [Your Name] to return. He hadn’t the slightest idea why she had needed to go to the doctor, as far as he could tell and feel, she was perfectly healthy. But, he found it best not to question the way human’s think, if she wished to visit a medical profession then who was he to stop her. Though he wished she would have taken him along as it was quite boring without her here and he could feel the way his heart yearned to have her close to him once again.

**_Knock. Knock._ **

His ears soon perked up to the sound of two soft knocks that was then followed by a short pause before another two knocks were delivered to the wooden front door. He stayed in his spot, eye narrowed as his ears pulled back against his skull and his lips tugged back into a snarl as a low growl started to admit from the back of his throat as another two knocks were delivered to the door, a bit harsher this time. “Open up dumbass, it’s me” Sanji’s voice sounded out from the other side of the door, causing the wolf to halt in his growling and take a whiff of the air before an annoyed huff left him.

**_Crack!_ **

The painful sound of bones cracking and breaking as they readjusted themselves filled the air as the wolf’s body started to change in shape. His fur simply growing inward and back into his body as his snort pushed itself inwards and the ears on top of his head started to shift and move downwards towards the sides of his skull. Over the years, changing back and forth between wolf and human had become quicker and easier for Zoro—far different from the first time he had ever done it—but that didn’t mean it still wasn’t a pain in the ass and hurt like hell each time. He rolled the stiffness out of his shoulders as he stood up, shaking his head as he tried to reorientate himself to his surroundings before rolling his shoulders once again and walked towards the front door, pulling it open without a second thought.

“What the hell are you doing here, swirly brows?” Zoro frowned, as he reached a hand up and brushed his fingers through his messy moss colored hair.

“Would it kill you to put some clothes on before answering the door?! What are you trying to do, blind everyone?!” Sanji snapped when he realized that the moss haired man was still naked and hadn’t bothered to dress after having changed back into a human.

“Just answer the question, what are you doing here?” Zoro repeated with a glare as the blond angrily grumbled before crossing his arms.

“To retrieve your stupid ass, what the hell were you doing this past week that you couldn’t have gotten back to the mountains by yourself?” he asked, seeming to grow more and more irritated the longer they both stood there. Him still out in the sun slowly feeling as if he was being cooked alive while Zoro was still indecent and standing in the open doorway for all to see. “Can we please move this inside?!” he finally growled, baring his fangs when he saw the moss haired man looked to be in mock thought. Zoro was quite tempted to deny the blond access to the home, but in the end, stepped aside and gave a gruff “come in” to the vampire.

“To answer your question, it’s none of your damn business what I’ve been doing” Zoro said as he shut the door with the flick of his wrist and followed his friend into the living room.

“Of course, should have figured you'd say that” Sanji grumbled with the roll of his eyes before he started to examine the pictures on the wall, his visible eye widening before turning heart shaped as he spied a picture of [Female Friend] and [Your Name]. “Is this the owner of the apartment?! My what a beauty she is! How I can’t wait to meet her!” he swooned as hearts floated all around him, causing a possessive growl to leave Zoro.

“The hell you will, you’re not meeting her ever so I advise you get rid of such thoughts before I get rid of them for you” the werewolf threatened with a snarl that caused all the hearts to pop around the blond as he turned to face the moss haired man with a snarl of his own.

“What did you say, mutt?” he glared.

“You want to go?!” they both snapped at each other.

-You-

You yawned as you stretched your arm upwards and approached the front door of your home, ready to just curl up on the couch with [Random Name] and watch whatever crap was on Tv today. You came to a stop though as soon as you rested your hand against the doorknob, frowning when you gave it a small turn to find that it was unlocked—though you were sure you had locked it when you left—and also frowned because of the loud noises you could hear coming from the other side. You could make out the sound of growling and loud barks along with things being thrown around, almost instantly your face fell as you started to suspect that your dog was taking a fit on the other side. Perhaps he had heard a car drive by or the phone had rung while you were gone, those were natural things dogs threw fits over…right? With a heavy sigh, you prepared yourself for the worst and pushed the door open, freezing in the doorway immediately as soon as you entered your home.

What you saw wasn’t something you were prepared for because you never suspected you walk into your own home to find some strange blond-haired man sitting on the floor with his arms wrapped tightly around your dog’s neck in a chokehold while [Random Name] was harshly biting into his leg. Both your pet and the strange man seemed to notice you as well as their growling and curses came to a halt and they both stared at you with wide eyes. “Uh…hi…” the blond awkwardly smiled as he raised his hand in greeting before flinching as he shot a sharp glare down to your dog who seemed to bite down harder on the leg he had trapped in his jaws.

“Wha…” you trailed off as you took slow steps further into your home, eyes widening as you found yourself at a lost for words as you finally took in the damage of your home. Furniture was overturned or shattered into pieces while scratch marks seemed to litter the walls, floor, and even the couch cushions. Slowly you looked back towards the man who seemed to be avoiding eye contact as he nervously fidgeted around under your stare. “Who…who the hell are you and what did you do to my house?!”


	5. Chapter Five

-Chapter Five-

The stranger didn’t really answer you, instead, he continued to avoid eye contact as you just stared him down with such an intense gaze. Focusing on every little detail of his person from his blond hair that fell in his face and covered his right eye to his strangely swirled eyebrow that almost distracted you completely and tempted you to ask him about it. But instead, you flinched away when he finally moved, removing his arms from around your pet and quickly standing up despite [Random Name] still having a tight hold on his leg. “Uh…I’m sure this looks bad and all, but I assure you this isn’t what you think” he said, trying to pull his leg free from your dog’s jaw. It was your turn to be silent as you took a step back and narrowed your eyes in suspicion.

Letting your gaze sweep around your destroyed living room once again, looking at the mess that you were sure you’d end up paying for before finally locking eyes with the man once again. He continued to fidget under your gaze, straightening his back while also looking as if he was trying to not just kick your dog across the room with how the canine was biting and pulling at his leg. “I’m calling the police” you suddenly whispered, already starting to pull your phone out of your pocket.

“No!” you jumped at how loud the blonde’s voice had gotten as his visible eye widened and he violently shook his head. “We don’t need to get the authorities involved, we can talk about this!” he sounded almost desperate as he tried to take a step closer towards you before nearly tripping when [Random Name] harshly tugged at his leg in an attempt to knock him off balance. “Will you just let go!” he snapped down at the animal.

“What’s there to talk about? You’re a strange man who has broken into my home, destroyed my living room, and is currently assaulting my dog, seems pretty clear to me what’s happening” you softly said, unable to really find your voice.

“Okay, I know that it must seem like that—”

“That’s exactly what it is.”

“—But, I can assure you that there’s more to this if you’d just hear me out” despite how he tried his best to look calm, there was a slight edge to his tone as it was obvious that he was already starting to become annoyed with your pet.

“[Random Name], come here” you finally said, calling the dog to you and for a moment you thought he wasn’t going to listen as he continued to bite and pull at the blonde’s leg before finally releasing the limb and trotting over to you. Taking a seat right in front of you like some guard dog as he glared at the stranger in front of you. “If I hear you out and don’t like whatever excuse you’re going to say, then you got to promise to stay here ‘til the cops arrive” it was silly of you to think you could negotiate with some stranger.

“Alright—”

“You also have to promise you’ll pay for the damage that you’ve caused no matter if I call the cops or not” you quickly added, cutting him off as he grew silent and took a few seconds to think before nodding his head. Showing that he was agreeing to your terms. “Alright” slowly you lowered your phone, but still kept it out as well as still keeping your distance from the man as you kept a watchful eye on him. “You may speak.”

“First, I guess I should introduce myself, I’m Sanji” he greeted himself, his smile slowly became strained and awkward as he seemed to wait for you to greet yourself, but instead you kept silent. If you had to guess, you’d say that he’s probably never found himself in such a situation as this one before—that right now he was feeling awkward and uncomfortable under your suspicious glare and hostile stance as you patiently waited for him to continue with what he had to say. With just one glance at him as he stiffly stood there, shifting around on his feet in what appeared to be a nice-looking suit, you concluded that he was most likely a ladies man. Someone that’s probably never had trouble smooth talking a woman before, but smooth talking wasn’t exactly going to be enough to make up for the destruction and intrusion of your home. “Right, now that that’s out of the way…um…I guess I should explain why I’m here.

“To put it simply, I’m the mutt’s—you could say—owner” you raised an eyebrow at this, looking a bit skeptical of the man’s claim as you looked between him and your pet.

“His owner?” you repeated, watching as the blond nodded his head. “I’m sorry, but I have a hard time believing that considering that the poor thing was on death row at the shelter. As far as I know, he didn’t have a collar nor did anyone there mention a previous owner” you crossed your arms and gave a simple shake of your head.

“Yes, well, he doesn’t have that great of a sense of direction” Sanji said, ignoring the irritated growl that came from the canine. “He doesn’t like wearing collars at all either, so you can probably tell that it was just a simple accident were he got out and wandered off” the blond felt that that was a good, believable lie and he was sure it had worked as he watched you slowly nod your head and process what he said.

“So, you’re saying [Random Name] is actually your pet” you watched as he once again nodded. “Then I can assume that you’re here to take him back.”

“Yeah, that’s right” Sanji seemed to relax a little as you allowed yourself to finally drop your hostile stance, but still kept your muscles slightly tense. Before any more could be said though, the blond suddenly gave an owlish blink as he seemed to be processing something that you had said earlier. “[Random Name]?”

“That’s what I named him, is there something wrong with it?” you almost looked offended at the look on his face upon hearing the new name you had given the animal. “What did you name him, huh?”

“Well, his name’s actually Zoro if you want to know but [Random Name]’s just as good” Sanji chuckled, smirking at the annoyed look the dog gave him before looking back at you as you seemed to be mulling over this new information.

“Zoro” you breathed out, repeating the name to yourself and oddly enough you couldn’t help but feel like it fit perfectly for the burly animal. Like it seemed to just overshadow your name choice in an instant. “I’ll admit, it’s better than what I had going” you seemed to begrudgingly admit, before looking down at your pet that was still looking up at you as if he was trying to gauge your reaction to his previous name. “Would you like to be called Zoro instead of [Random Name]?” you suddenly asked, not really thinking before you spoke. His lips seemed to tug upwards upon hearing you ask this and gave what sounded like a happy yelp as if he was really answering your question.

“Zoro it is then” you breathed out before directing your attention back towards Sanji who looked to be closely examining the small interaction between you and your pet. “Okay, he used to be your dog—used to being the key word here—but that doesn’t really explain why you broke into my home instead of waiting for me to get back like a sane person would” you suddenly frowned in confusion as you realized something. “How did you even find out where I live to begin with?”

“[Female Friend] told me.”

“You know, [Female Friend]?” you tilted your head at his answer, becoming skeptical once more as you were sure that your friend never told you of her ever befriending someone like this man before.

“Well I don’t really know her, I sort of ran into her and…” he trailed off, looking as if he was at a loss for words and didn’t really know how to finish his current sentence.

“You ran into her and…” you motioned for him to continue, growing a bit impatient with how he had suddenly gone silent. You still were having a hard time believing him, not wanting to believe that your friend would literally give your address to some stranger she barely knew. It seems you weren’t the only one becoming irritated with the man’s silence as your dog was starting to lowly growl and voice his annoyance as well. “I don’t have all day, either get on with it or…” you wanted to threaten that you’d call the police, but for some strange reason, something told you that that wouldn’t be a good thing. Like a small voice in the back of your head was simply cooing out convincing words as to why such a thing would be terrible.

“Look, I don’t want to upset such a beauty as yourself, but it doesn’t really matter how I got here or how I got in” the minute Sanji said those words, you felt as if he was attempting to wing it, hoping that he could simply smooth talk his way out of answering your question. “I just came here to retrieve my dog because really, all of this was just one big mishap thanks to the shelter for accidentally giving you the mutt. But I’ll admit, seeing your cute face really makes it worth it” he flirted, nervously sweating when he saw the deadpanned look both you and Zoro wore.

“Flattery will get you nowhere” the blond winced at the glare you gave him and watched as you turned and walked towards the front door and pulled it open. “Now leave” the look on his face told you that he hadn’t expected such a response—a reaction as if he was sure you would have wanted to call the police first. You didn’t blame him, even you were surprised that you didn’t just call the police right then and there seeing how your phone was still out and in your hand, but that soothing voice that was bouncing around in your skull sounded so convincing. It made you feel like it would be best to listen to it instead of doing what you thought would be the logical response.

“But…but don’t you want me to pay for the damage?” he asked, seeming to be at a slight loss on what to say, not daring to move from his spot as you continued to stand there, patiently holding the door open and waiting from him to take his leave.

“Just leave your contact information and get out” you bluntly told him. “It’s not like you can pay at the moment, we don’t even know how much all this damage you caused is going to cost” you shrugged, raising an eyebrow as you saw how the blond was nervously starting to sweat once again, his gaze shifting elsewhere as you squinted your eyes in suspicion. “What? What’s with that look?”

“What if I told you, oh I don’t know, that I don’t really have any contact information to give you?” Sanji slowly asked, watching as you blankly stared at him for a moment before frowning.

“What?” you weren't quite following what he was saying, in today’s modern society it sounded absurd to think that someone didn’t have any way for another person to contact them. The blond before you must have a phone number or email address you could use to get in contact with him, for heaven sakes he was wearing an expensive looking suit. “You have to be joking” you watched as he shook his head, flinching as you slammed your door shut with the flick of your wrist. “If you don’t have any contact information, then how the fuck do you plan for paying for all this?”

“Uh…” he looked like he hadn’t thought this far ahead as he now realized that you were right. He couldn’t write a check as he didn’t have a bank account and now that he thought about it, he knew by heart his sweet Nami wouldn’t dare to part with the money she had collected throughout the centuries and kept hidden just to help fix his mistake.

“You break into my house, tell me you can pay for this mess, and now your admitting you have no real way of paying me back?” you venomously spat out, not taking note of the amused look Zoro wore as he watched you start to move your way closer to Sanji and jab a finger into his chest. “Listen here, mister, you aren’t leaving this apartment until you pay to have it’s fixed.”

“Don’t even bother, [Your Name], I’ll cover it” you swirled around on your heel to look towards the front door to find [Female Friend] leaned up against the doorway. “Also, you really need to learn how to lock your door” she said, shutting the door behind her and walking further into the room, ignoring the way Zoro growled at her as she passed by him and walked right up to you and Sanji. Gently hooking her finger into the collar of your shirt and pulling you back and away from the blond. “It’s my fault he’s here anyway, but I know whose fault it is in how he got in” she muttered the last part to herself while shooting a glance towards your dog that looked away with a huff.

“What? No!” you frowned. “You are not wasting your money in paying for the damage he caused!” you scowled, pouting a little when she seemed to just simply wave you off and looked right at Sanji.

“You can leave pretty boy, you’re presence is no longer needed” she told him before suddenly moving closer and leaning right up into his ear. Whispering something that you couldn’t hear, but whatever it was, was enough to cause the blond to tense up as you watched his one visible eye widen. As [Female Friend] pulled away, they both seemed to stare one another down, having a silent conversation with each other that you clearly weren’t apart of as you stood there in confusion before watching as Sanji nodded his head and a look of understanding crossed his face.

“I shall take my leave for now” he finally announced before turning towards you and suddenly taking hold of your hand. Bringing it right up to his lips where he placed a gentle kiss to it and looked at you with flirtatious eyes instead of that nervous look he had been wearing this entire time. “Do not fret, mademoiselle, I shall return and hopefully next time we can have a proper meeting” with that he let go of your hand which limply fell back to your side and took his leave. You couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow though when you watched him exchange glares and a growl with your pet before finally leaving.

“Uh…what was that about?” you asked, looking towards your friend who only flashed you an innocent smile.

“Don’t worry about it, now, why don’t you call your landlord, so we can get all this sorted out” [Female Friend] suggested while motioning all around her at the destroyed room. “Then you can go pack some clothes and we’ll head over to my house.”

“But—”

“I seriously doubt you want to stay here with this mess” [Female Friend] said, giving you a knowing look as she knew you really wouldn’t enjoy waking up to this mess every day until it was fixed. You didn’t really want to think how much the damage would cost and you had no doubt that your landlord would most likely demand that the floorboards be ripped up and replaced due to how deep those scratch marks looked and you feared to think what he planned on doing with the walls that were damaged and the furniture he planned on replacing your destroyed ones with. Then there was also the fear that he could potentially kick you out because some of the damage was clearly done by your dog—you froze when you realized something.

“I never told him I got a dog” you muttered.

“What?” [Female Friend] asked, raising an eyebrow as she leaned closer towards you to hear you better.

“I…I never told my landlord I got a dog” you repeated, watching as your friend grew silent for a moment, blankly staring at you as she slowly processed what you had just said.

“What do you mean you never told him you got a dog?!”


End file.
